Shyness and perceived monitoring by peers affect children’s performance in a divided attention task

Abstract

To engage effectively in a dynamic social world, children must be prepared to process incoming information quickly and efficiently. For some, the perception that one may be evaluated by peers may directly affect how they attend to and engage with the world around them. The current study examined how children’s performance on a hierarchical figures task varies under perceived social and nonsocial conditions as a function of temperamental shyness. A total of 78 8-year-olds completed a self-report measure of shyness and two blocks of a divided attention task in which they identified targets appearing at the global or local level of a hierarchical figure. Children completed one block under standard laboratory conditions (Baseline condition) and completed the other block under the impression that their performance was being recorded and would be shown to other children of the same age (Social Monitoring condition). Results showed that children were faster and more accurate when targets appeared at the global level and when targets remained at the same level across trials. Furthermore, as shyness increased, children responded slower in the Social Monitoring condition relative to the Baseline condition. Notably, these changes in response time were not reflected by commensurate increases in accuracy. Potential processes and motivations underlying these differences in performance, as well as implications for children in real-world situations, are discussed.